


A Flower By Any Other Name

by Bayleaf_uwu



Category: Original Work
Genre: Angst, Betrayal, Bittersweet Ending, Character Death, Children, Crushes, Drama, F/F, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Growing Up, Hurt/Comfort, LGBTQ Themes, Love, M/M, Magic, Origin Story, Protectiveness, Teenagers, The world is Fucked Up, all of my fics are really gay okay, and these kids have to deal with it, basically about a smol boy just trying to be happy, but I need to draw a cover first, depends how you look at it, going to be crossposted on Wattpad eventually, kind of, like a lot, that's what happens when you have a pan author
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-22
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-02-26 02:21:18
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 7,291
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21895822
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Bayleaf_uwu/pseuds/Bayleaf_uwu
Summary: When Jay is little, he learns that life isn't fair. People don't like those who are different, and when you have the ability to use any kind of magic you're willing to learn, it scares them. That's okay; Jay doesn't need anyone but himself and the girl he's sworn to protect. But the universe has a funny way of working, and when they're both thrusted into a political rivalry of siblings, Jay ends up apart of a revolution he never asked for with his friend on the other side.When all is said and done, if you believe in different things, can your friendship really ever last?
Comments: 32
Kudos: 4





	1. Chapter 1

Jay loves days like this. The warm smell of soup on the stove. The quiet hum of song as his mother flits through the house. He can barely reach his food on the kitchen table, but he wants to sit with the adults anyway. He watches as his dad reads a book on the other side of the table, scratching notes onto another sheet of paper. 

“What are you working on, Daddy?” Jay asks, keeping his voice low. It’s as if being too loud might disrupt the perfect scene. His father looks up, smiling a little to one side. 

“I can show you, if Mom allows it?” He glances over to Mom, who looks back from the stove. “If the soup gets cold, it’s not my fault.” She smirks, sticking her tongue out a little. 

Jay thinks that his mom looks younger, when she talks to Dad. The grey hairs mixed with the black, pulled up into a bun, don’t look so grey. Her eyes seem brighter. More focused. Jay decides that he likes his parents better this way. 

“Come on, it’s about finished.” Dad scoops Jay up, settling him on his hip. 

“Dad, I’m big! I can walk on my own!” Jay pouts, but also shifts closer into the embrace. Dad just chuckles and takes Jay out to the back of the house, where there sits an empty plot of dirt. He sets Jay down and takes one last look at his paper. 

Jay anticipates what happens next, grinning a little wider. Dad sets his hand in the dirt and whispers, quiet and encouraging. Out of the dirt sprouts a tiny plant, one that grows larger and larger until it is a little bigger than his dad’s hand. The plant is bright, lush green and consists almost entirely of little leaves. 

“What does this one do, Dad?” Jay asks, leaning down to get a closer look. The plant seems to sparkle slightly in the sunlight. 

“It should be able to speed up the healing of cuts.” Dad explains. He plucks a few leaves from the plant, crushing them in his hands. The green pieces look like they were mixed with gold. “We’ll have your mother make tea out of it later, and we can try it out.” 

“That’s a useful spell to have.” Jay nods sagely, trying to be serious. He wants his dad to know that he’s responsible enough to handle his teachings. 

“Absolutely.” He ruffles Jay’s hair. 

“Can you teach me?” The words tumble out of him. His dad softens, putting the crushed leaves in a little bag, one made specifically for brewing tea. “I don’t know, Kiddo. Magic seems cool and all, but it’s a big responsibility.” He sighs, heavy. “Are you sure you want to get mixed up with magic at all? None of the other kids know magic here. You wouldn’t be lacking.” 

“What?” Jay’s eyes widened. “Not a single person?”

“Not a single person.” 

Jay thinks the idea over. Learning magic like his parents would be  _ really _ cool. He’d have access to all kinds of spells, and it wouldn’t matter that he was born without any natural magic. After all, his parents weren’t born with natural magic, either. But it would be weird to not be like the other kids. To be different. 

_ “Arian!”  _ His mom calls from the front of the house. Her voice isn’t the same as before, light and joking and happy. It’s scared. 

What could scare his mom? 

“I’m coming!” Dad bolts up, dashing towards the house. Jay stumbles after, making sure to grab the tea bag. Dad needed his mom to make it, and if they lost it, it would be sad. 

When Jay gets to the doorway, he sees it. 

In the street a girl Jay’s age is sitting flat on her butt. She shakes. Her eyes are frightened, welling up with tears. She wears a pretty white dress soiled with tears, dirt, and specks of blood. Her knees are skinned, the really bad kind. Those would scar, Jay thinks in the back of his head. Towering over her is some kind of animal, maybe a wolf. It is easily twice the size of the girl, and is baring its teeth. Other people, his neighbors, crowd around but don’t do anything. They’re scared, too. 

His mom is closer than the others, giving his dad a worried look. He shakes his head a little, just slightly. It reminds Jay of the silents arguments they have sometimes, when they don’t want Jay to hear. He still can’t tell what they’re saying. 

His mom holds up a hand, and starts whispering. The words are similar to Dad’s, so the spell she’s trying to use isn’t going to hurt anyone. Instead, they sound pleasant and sleepy. Her hand crackles with energy, and is blasts towards the wolf. It softens, and looks confused towards his mother. It sways a little before collapsing on the ground. A sleep spell. 

There’s an eerie silence in the street, filled only with the soft sobs of the little girl. Mom slowly lowers her hand, glancing back at Jay and Dad. She gives them a weak, sad smile. 

Jay steps forward to go hug his mom. After all, what she did was great! She was so cool! She stopped that big wolf without hurting anything! But his dad grabs his arm roughly. “Don’t.” He whispers, pulling Jay close. 

“But, Dad-” 

“Jay.” His voice is hard. It’s the voice he uses when he really, really wants Jay to listen. So he listens. 

The other people start to whisper. 

_ “ - a gift?” _

__ _ “ - no, would have shown up by now - ”  _

__ _ “ - poor family - “  _

__ _ “ - witch - “  _

__ One of them steps forward. Jay remembers him as the mayor, a nice man who liked to pat Jay’s head and give him lollipops. 

“Miss Woods. Please, stand down.” He sounds worried, and a hand is positioned on his hip. 

“My family didn’t know.” Mom clenches her fists. “Please, don’t - ” 

“Don’t be hostile, or I’ll have to shoot.” His voice raises. Shoot? Shoot what? The wolf was asleep. There was no need to hurt it. 

“Mayor, listen to me.” She took a step forward. 

_ “Stay back!” _ He yells. It all happens so fast. His mom barely has time to flinch as a long bang radiates through the quiet neighborhood. Dad pulls him into his side roughly, putting a hand on the back of his head. It was too late. 

Jay saw the red. All of it. 

He hears a commotion of screams and cries of children. “Go back inside.” The mayor calls, but Jay can’t see him. “Mr. Woods, I assume you were unaware of the… Situation?” 

“Yes, Sir.” His dad’s voice is hard. 

“Good. Your son is a good child, Arian. I’ll leave it up to you to teach him this lesson.” 

“I will.” 

His dad doesn’t let Jay look as he pulls him inside the house. The soup is still bubbling on the stove, smelling bitter from simmering for too long. The house is silent, save for the soft sob from above him. 

“Why did they - To Mom - “ Jay doesn’t know what to ask. How to ask. 

“This is what I was trying to tell you.” His dad whispers, turning off the stove. He tries to turn away, but Jay sees the tears dripping down his face. Jay realizes that he’s crying, too. “People don’t… They don’t like it when people are different, Jay. They don’t like what they understand.” 

“Tons of people have magic, in the other country.” Jay insists. “We aren’t any different from them!” 

“I know.” Dad whispers. “I just - They think it’s different, to learn magic. If you have a gift, it’s easier to know what to expect. Witches can learn any spell, if they have the right resources.” 

Jay looks down to the tea bag sitting in his hand, shimmering so beautifully. Magic did this. Not a gift, not natural magic, but still helpful all the same. His mom loved magic. She would use it more often than Dad, to flavor soup or make little fireworks to show Jay. 

“I’m going to learn.” Jay breathes, clenching the bag tightly. “I’m going to be an awesome witch some day. And I’m going to make Mom happy, because she liked magic, too.” His dad softens, smiling just a little. 

“I’m glad.” 


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay makes a friend.

In the entire town, there was only one elementary school. It was fairly small, with only four classes for every grade, and every kid seemed to know one another. Word seemed to spread fast about Jay’s mother. 

It was eerily quiet. The kids would talk to each other, but they never chose to interact with Jay directly. They would shoot him small, nervous glances or whisper something to their friend as he walked by. They weren’t mean, just distant. 

During recess, the kids all separated into their groups; the ones who liked playing house, the ones who kicked a ball around, the ones who sat and gossiped on the tower. Jay sat on the swings, right next to about five kids who were getting ready to play tag. 

“Can I join you?” The girl who had asked was new to the class, but Jay knew who she was. She had brown hair that reached her shoulders, fluffy and a little tangled without looking unkempt and shimmering green eyes that seemed a little nervous. She wore a plain white dress and held a stuffed animal, an old ragged bunny, to her chest.

“Oh! You don’t have any friends yet, right?” One of the other kids, clearly the leader, perked up. “If you can run fast, you can play with us! We don’t mind!” 

Jay looked away. It hurt to see the other kids be so happy when everything was so  _ wrong.  _ For a brief moment, he thought about how his mom would have probably been alive, if that girl hadn’t been in trouble. It was silly, of course. She obviously hadn’t wanted to be in that situation, and his mom wouldn’t have wanted him to hold grudges. But that didn’t mean he had to watch them. 

The girl grinned wide, throwing her hands up in the air. As it happened, her bunny went flying out of her hands and landed on the pebbles with a soft “oof”. She looked startled, eyes darting to the toy. 

“Oh, sorry! I can get it.” 

The other kids watched in silence as she reached her hands out. The bunny started pushing towards her gently, as if the wind was blowing it away. Then it started floating, wobbly and slow, into her arms. She didn’t seem all that concerned over it, turning back towards the kids. “I’m ready to play, now!” 

“Are you a witch?” A kid blurted out. Their eyes were wide, and the entire group had scooted back a little bit. 

“What?” She tilted her head, frowning a little. “No. Witches are - they’re evil, remember?” Her voice lowered to a whisper. “One of them tried to hurt me, the other day. The lady who I live with told me so.” 

Jay’s fists tightened on the chains of the swing. It wasn’t  _ true.  _ Why were the adults telling her that? Mom had saved her. She should have been thanking her, not talking ill of the dead. He probably would have said something, but he knew that it was a bad idea. His dad had told him that, if the town knew that they were okay with Mom being a witch, they’d probably get hurt too. 

“She’s gifted, right?” One of the kids muttered. “They live far away, but I’ve heard of them. They have, like, magic. They’re born with it.” 

“I don’t think she can play with us.” The leader announced. “She’ll cheat with her magic!” 

“What? No I won’t!” Her eyes widened. 

“We don’t know that! You can use your magic and we wouldn’t know!” He pointed out, standing up. The other kids were quick to follow.

“Someone else will play with you, but tag isn’t a good game for people with magic. See you later!” All five of them dashed off, leaving the girl standing there. 

She looked a lot smaller, just like she had on his street. Her eyes were shining with tears and she hiccuped softly, using her hand to cover her mouth. 

_ You always need to try and be friends with people,  _ Mom had told him,  _ especially the ones who don’t have friends of their own. They’re the saddest.  _

__ Jay shouldn’t have liked her at all. The girl had talked bad about his mom, and was part of the reason she was dead to begin with. 

But it wasn’t really her fault, was it? And he would make sure that she knew that his mom was nice, someday. He would tell her, and she’d thank him, and it’d be okay. 

If he let her be sad, would his mother have died for nothing?

“...I don’t think I’m very interesting, but you can sit with me.” Jay’s voice was soft. Maybe a part of him was hoping that she wouldn’t hear at all, and it wouldn’t be his fault. 

“Really?” She asked. 

He nodded, watching her sit on the other swing and set her bunny in her lap. “Thank you. My - my name is Hana!”

“My name is Jay.” He nodded a little. 

“I hope we can be friends,” She said, frowning slightly. “I don’t remember how I got here, but it’s all very lonely. I don’t have parents, or friends…” Hana looked at him. “But it’s okay, if you’re my friend.” 

“Your gift. What does it do?”

“Oh! I can make things move!” She let a few pebbles float into her hand. Jay frowned when he realized how  _ harmless _ it was, just like what his mom would do. 

He decided that he wouldn’t let her grow up sad and alone. If his mom died for her, he had to make sure it wasn’t for nothing. He would protect her. 

“I’ll be your friend.” He told her. 

She lit up. “Really?”

“Really.” 

“That’s so cool of you! We can play games, and I’ll - I’ll be the bestest friend ever!” She bounced in her spot. “I’ll do nice things, and we’ll have sleepovers, and it’ll be great!” 

“I guess.” 

“You’re kind of quiet.” She noticed. “Do you like to be quiet?”

“Um, now I do, yeah.” 

“That’s okay! I can talk for both of us.” She smiled, as bright as the sun. “I like to talk. And you can listen, but you have to tell me if I’m annoying, okay?”

“Okay.” 

“Do you like animals, Jay?” Hana let her legs kick a little as she swung slightly. Her hair fell in her face a little bit, but she didn’t seem to mind all that much. 

He nodded softly. 

“Ah! I love animals! Dogs are kind of scary, but all the other ones are very cute! Bunnies are so  _ fluffy  _ and they have big ears, and duckies walk really funny, and it’s really cool!” She rambled on about different animals, and why she liked them. It might have been annoying to a lot of kids, but when she talked and talked and talked, Jay didn’t have to think about his mom. 

For the first time since that day, Jay smiled. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry the chapter was so late! I kinda maybe fell down a flight of stairs and now my butt HURTS like REALLY BAD and my elbow is skinned to all hecc. I feel like I did a thousand squats and it made me sore. Anyway, these two chapters were kind of like a prelogue? Next chapter takes place when most of the story will, so it'll be a pretty big time skip. Jay and Hana will be about 16/17. 
> 
> On a related note, Hana is part of the reason the story has its title! Another character will be the other half, but they'll be introduced later ;)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jay learns about a book.

In highschool, kids cared much less about the people around them. They had their groups of friends, of course, huddled together and quick to find one another. And it wasn’t without the fighting, whenever two people who didn’t like one another interacted directly. But it was easy to avoid the other kids, if you were careful enough. 

Jay hadn’t been the kid with the dead mom since he was seven. People would talk to him just fine, offering small polite smiles and smalltalk. Hana, though, couldn’t erase her status as gifted so easily. She would always have her magic, and with Jay’s encouragement, refused to hide it. She was unafraid in floating her purse beside her as she walked, or doodle absentmindedly without ever touching a pencil. Her control had strengthened with time and practice. 

The other kids didn’t like that all that much. They wouldn’t be mean to her, but there were the whispers. The weary looks. The silence when Hana needed a partner in an assignment. And if Hana wasn’t good enough for the student body, neither was Jay. 

Hana had a way of shining like the sun. Her smiles, small, but genuine. How she would always seem to know exactly what he was thinking, as easily as breathing. 

Mostly, at least. 

The library was the only one in town, but it wasn’t very popular. It was usually pretty empty, even, to his father’s exasperation. It was hard to pay bills without business, after all. But, although Jay wouldn’t admit it, he secretly enjoyed how peaceful it was. A sanctuary. Hana wasn’t a huge reader, but had no problem idly flipping through a magazine while he studied. 

She clicked her tongue, frowning. “Ah, so annoying.” She mumbled. Jay glanced up, tilting his head slightly. “What?” 

“Another witch sighting, a town over.” 

Jay tried not to tense up, moving his page slightly so it was covered. “What did they do?” 

“It doesn’t go into specifics, but a few people were injured.” She waved her hand a little, not looking as a water was lifted right for her to drink.

“Mmm.” 

“Try to be more interested, will you? I know you’re not into politics or whatever, but it’s scary. Don’t you think? To have people with the unchecked power to do  _ anything. _ ” 

“I doubt they could do anything.” Jay snorted. 

“They can! Anything that can be passed around. I read a scientific article about it.” Her eyes widened slightly. Her hands moved a lot while she spoke. “One could decide to kill all of us, right now, and they could. No one would be able to know if they knew how to do it or not.”

“Why would someone want to kill us?” Jay cocked an eyebrow. 

“It could happen,” Her face flushed. “So don’t look at me like that. You weren’t there when it happened to me.”

Jay felt himself suppress a shiver. He was there, when Hana encountered the witch she thought had tried to kill her. 

He had to watch as she got shot. 

“I guess not.” Jay mumbled. “But I doubt they’d want to show their faces, after that.” He reached over the table to poke her forehead. “Besides, I’d kick their asses.” 

“Oh, yes, because Sir Jay is so strong and powerful.” She grinned. “With his noodle arms.” 

“Don’t forget it.” Jay chuckled. He noticed out of the corner of his eye as his father turned the corner. 

He looked a few decades older than he actually was, with deep worry lines and grey hairs. He had a nasty habit of wringing his hands, and had a heart attack when Jay so much as breathed funny. Dad stopped at the table, letting out a small sigh. 

“There you are. I’m having some trouble in the back. Can you help me out?”

Of course, Jay knew what he actually meant. He gave a quick glance to Hana, who was back to reading her magazine. “Yeah, sure.” 

The back of the library was always locked, and only two keys existed; one for Dad, which he had charmed to only appear when it needed to, and Jay’s, securely tied as a necklace. Behind the door was a much smaller library, but a full one nonetheless. The door clicked behind them. 

“Bad news?” Jay mumbled, sitting on a lone table absentmindedly. 

“Kind of.” His father mumbled. “Have I told you about the Celantilis?” 

Jay shook his head. He it was odd; Jay knew about most of the lore surrounding his culture. What Dad hadn’t wanted to tell him, he’d learned from different books around the library. 

“It’s a very old, very powerful spell book. It has the ability to do a lot of things, including a lot of powerful healing spells, and…” His dad hesitated. “...the ability to bring back the dead.”

Jay felt his breath hitch. 

“It was taken, by the government. Not our country, but the neighboring one. Domania.” 

Jay had, of course, heard a lot about the country that housed almost all of the gifted people. It wasn’t unfriendly with his country, per say, but they ruled very differently. Domania still had a monarchy, among other things. 

“But it’s not all loss. Bringing back the dead is  _ extremely _ dangerous.” He shot Jay a warning look. “Just because you  _ can  _ do something doesn’t mean you should. The world isn’t meant to bring back the dead. Besides, it doesn’t even work all of the time. The spell is hardly secure. It had other spells, too, ones that shouldn’t be used.” 

“Like?” Jay’s voice was a whisper. 

“Like the ability to strip people of their ability of magic completely.” 

Jay let the information settle. Having someone’s magic erased would be unnecessarily cruel. “Can it be used on witches?” He frowned. 

“Yes, but the spell has to be performed by a witch, so I doubt they’d use it. More likely, they just don’t want anyone else to have it.” His dad put a hand on his shoulder, gentle and loving. “I know you’re a smart kid. And you might have heard about it from somewhere. I don’t want you anywhere near that book, you hear me?” 

Jay scoffed, but it wasn’t malicious. “Like I’d get wrapped up in all that. Hana is enough drama for me, thank you.” 

“She’s a good friend.” His dad nodded. “Why don’t you tell her?”

Jay tensed. “It’s not important. Besides, she hates witches. She’d be scared of me, and I couldn’t…” He stepped out of his dad’s grip, heading towards the door. “She’ll find out eventually.” His dad told him. Jay knew she would not, in fact, find out. He wouldn’t let her. 

That didn’t stop the bad feeling in his stomach. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The plot jumps to high gear! I'm terrible with naming things if y'all haven't noticed. We've been introduced to two of the main characters, and next chapter we'll meet number three ;)  
> Although, granted, she's the most side-character like of the whole group, mostly because she interacts with Hana way more than she does Jay.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Hana celebrates her birthday.

Hana always hated days like this. Every fall, right after school starts, Jay would take a day off with the same excuse every time. 

_ Oh, you know how it is, Hana!  _ He would laugh, rubbing the back of his neck.  _ Normal fall sickness.  _

__ But as much as it may have seemed otherwise, Hana was not an idiot. No one got sick enough to stay home one day, around the same time every year, and seem perfectly fine the day after. 

It didn’t help that the day was her birthday, every single year. It wasn’t his fault for not knowing; she never particularly liked her birthday, and no one other than her parents ever paid attention to it. She was perfectly content with the tiny store bought cake and the weary smiles from her foster family. 

She was absolutely not content with Jay lying to her. 

This year, the day seemed to be even worse than usual. It started in the first class of the day, as her teacher called roll. 

“Hana?”

“Present.” Hana waved her hand absentmindedly. 

“Oh, happy birthday, Hana.” 

Now, most of the class didn’t care about the fact that today was the birthday of the weird girl who could move things with a flick of her wrist. But there was one girl who was all too interested. 

Hana was in fourth grade when she first met Claire. The room was bustling with chatter, none of the kids really focused, but Hana was not one of them. She watched her clay mug with intensity as a tiny brush dusted with blue hovered just over the spot. Jay sat next to her, breath held with anticipation, not daring to make a sound. 

“Hey! Hana, right!” 

Hana squeaked, brush dropping out of the air and clattering on the table. Leaning over was a girl she didn’t recognize. “Um -”

“I’m Claire!” Her smile dazzled like a diamond. It was much too bright for Hana, nothing like the quiet shimmer she had gotten used to with Jay. “You’re really pretty!”

Hana blinked a few times, frowning a little. “What? No I’m not.” Jay nodded a little, picking up the brush so he could clean off the table. 

“Well, I think so! You should come to the party my parents are throwing! We just moved in and they said I could invite all the friends I wanted.” 

“What? I’m not your friend.” Hana tilted her head. “We just met.”

That’s when she saw it. It was subtle, quickly smoothing over with a patient smile. Claire was absolutely  _ annoyed,  _ as if Hana ruined some kind of nasty annoyance. Hana felt Jay bristle beside her, so she couldn’t have imagined it.

“I’m not going.” Hana crossed her arms. “You ruined my focus, anyway, which is rude.”

Claire frowned, reaching back. “...oh. Sorry, I’ll leave you alone.”

After the fact, Claire absolutely did not leave Hana alone. She was always trying to worm her way into Hana’s good graces, becoming more and more forced over time. 

_ Hana, this pencil reminded me of you! You should have it.  _

__ _ Hana, the coffee shop got my order wrong, and I’m pretty sure you really like this flavor? Do you want it? _

__ _ Hana, do you want money to be my friend? Seriously. I’ll give you anything.  _

Hana wasn’t having any of it. She definitely was not having the subtle look of scheming when Claire glanced back to Hana. Hana’s hand twitched, managing just barely to not make any rude gestures back. 

Today was going to be a very long day. 

Sure enough, on her way to lunch, Hana heard a loud “Hana!” from the stairs behind her. Hana kept walking, but a hand grabbed onto her wrist. “Hana! Happy birthday!”

Claire looked her usual, with a dumb little smile and eyes that resembled a puppy’s. Hana sighed. “It’s not my real birthday, so you can quit it.”

“Eh? You have to celebrate your birthday sometime!” Claire tilted her head slightly. 

“I don’t.” Hana thrusted her hand back. Faith, if she was stalled for much longer, the line would take forever. 

“We should hang out!”

“No.”

“Please? I know you don’t like crowds, so it’ll be just us! Jay, too, if he’s up for it. He’s not with you, is he absent?”

“Claire—”

“It’s okay if he can’t come! We can do whatever you want! My parents won’t be home.”

“I don’t—”

“—Father is out on a business trip, and dad is going out with some friends so—”

_ “Claire!”  _ Hana yelled, stomping her foot. A silence hushed over the entire hallway. 

“Ah, am I upsetting you?” Claire frowned. 

“Yes! Just - just leave me alone.” 

“Right now? You seem upset. I didn’t meant to make you mad, honest.” Claire took a step forwards, but Hana took a step back. 

“Yes, right now!” Hana was seething. Claire went to grab onto her arm again, and Hana yanked back, turning around. 

She heard a scream behind her, followed by a loud  _ thud.  _ Hana’s blood went cold. She slowly turned, finding the worst case scenario behind her. Claire laid at the base of the stairs, motionless, ankle twisted in a weird way and blood pooling out under her. 

Hana hadn’t meant to do that. 

Hana hadn’t wanted her to get hurt. 

Right? 

She would never wish ill on Claire, no matter how much she hated her. 

Right? 

Hana was dazed as someone grabbed her arm and lead her away. As she heard the whispers, students gossiping and theorizing. 

_ —always hated Claire— _

__ _ —was just trying to be nice— _

__ _ —Claire is the sweetest girl in school—  _

__ _ —why would she hurt someone like her? _

__ Hana was sat in a cushy chair, in an office, where the principal sat. He seemed nervous and a little distressed. The room was well worn, the least used spots covered in dust and the sun hidden partially behind curtains. 

“Hana Silver! It’s, um, well, it would be great to see you on any other occasion. Do you know why you’re here?”

Hana shifted in her seat. “...I didn’t mean to push Claire.”

The principal seemed to relax slightly, although still looked as if he might have a heart attack. “You aren’t in trouble. We just think - well, you’ve been quite the problem child since you first arrived, yes? We don’t think that you’re a good fit for the village.” 

“...what?” Hana whispered, going pale. 

“You’re going to be moving to a different town, one more equipped to handle your kind.” He explained, trying to keep his voice gentle. 

“Oh. So, um, how long do I have? A few months?” She shifted in her seat. 

“Actually, your bags are already packed.” 

Hana stopped in her tracks. It couldn’t have been more than ten minutes since she pushed Claire. There was no way he had time to call her parents, discuss moving her out, find someplace willing to take her, and pack her things in that amount of time. It just didn’t add up. 

Unless, of course, her foster family had been planning this for longer than she thought. 

They didn’t care about whether or not she wanted to leave. If she wanted time to say goodbye to anyone she would have missed. To the baker who always gave her an extra donut when she ordered. To the pondkeeper who picked up trash in the park on weekends. To Jay, with his soft smiles and quiet dry way of speaking. She hadn’t gotten a say at all. 

Hana didn’t say goodbye as her family wished her luck on the train ride away. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy birthday to me! Finally updated Flowers. With Claire we've met 3 out of the 6 main cast! Claire will be coming back later on in the story. Like Clouded, the story is going to be mostly from Jay's pov with other characters sprinkled in ever so often. Next chapter, Jay senses something wrong.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire has a chat and Jay is terrible at social cues.

Jay felt something off when he walked into the school building, two coffees in hand. Logically, nothing seemed to be different. The students bustled along, talking and laughing with one another. It was sunny outside. The birds sang outside. Jay had even gotten a total of seven hours of sleep; not enough for an average person, but more than he usually got, especially on the anniversary of his mother’s death. 

He was on edge when he slipped into the school library and saw Hana gone. He froze for a second, glancing around. It was only a few minutes before the bell. She always got to school early, way earlier than Jay. The ice coffee felt too cold in his hand. 

He didn’t see her in any classes, either. 

He didn’t see her at lunch, either. 

He started to get nervous. She was probably sick, and it wasn’t like it was uncommon for her to get sick. But he was anxious every time it happened, without fail. 

Maybe she was mad at him. 

He shook the thought away and tried to ignore it. But when the next day rolled around, she was still absent. 

And then the day after that. 

Jay was really starting to panic after the third day. Something bad  _ definitely  _ happened. In one of his classes, he felt a tap on his shoulder. 

He relaxed slightly when he saw who it was. Claire was a nice girl, sweet, always helping Jay when he needed it. Jay knew that Hana had some kind of rivalry with her, but he never really understood it. 

“What happened to your face?” He asked, motioning to the bandage covering the left side of her forehead. 

“That’s what I wanted to talk about. You’ve been looking for Hana, right?” Claire seemed nervous, fiddling with her hands. Was she blushing? “On her birthday, she pushed me down the stairs on accident.” 

Jay frowned. “Her birthday? Hana doesn’t have a birthday.” 

“That’s what I thought! But then the teacher said… I don’t know, I didn’t want her to be alone. She’s always so sad when you’re gone.” Claire looked to the side, frowning. “I tried to ask her out.” 

“...you asked Hana, the one girl who can’t stand you, on a date?”

“No!” Claire’s eyes widened. “Just as, like, friends! But she said no, and I pushed it too much, and she… threw me down the stairs. It was pretty bad, um, I had to get stitches—,” She tapped the back of her head, “—and I was in a coma for like 24 hours. When I woke up, they told me Hana was sent away.” 

Jay went pale. Hana was gone. How could he protect her when she was Faith knows where, with Faith knows who? He would fail. His mother's death would be for nothing. He was so useless. He couldn’t do anything right. He— 

“I have the address.” Claire said softly, twirling her hair in her finger. Jay snapped out of it, trying to calm his shaking. “I was hard, but having a rich family has its perks.” She laughed sadly, smiling with a kind of bittersweetness. “I’ll give it to you, but you have to - to say I’m sorry! Make sure Hana knows I didn’t mean it.” 

Jay nodded slightly, narrowing his eyes. Claire slid to him an address, one he recognized. One of the most powerful boarding schools in the world. How did a nowhere town like his secure a spot? 

“My parents wanted her far away, so they pulled some strings. They’ve wanted her away for a really long time.” Claire shrugged, as if reading his mind. “Can’t have the daughter and heir to the Carter Industries in love with a gifted person, not in Bristol.” She mumbled. 

“How will I get into there? I’m not gifted.” Jay asked. 

Claire looked at him for a long time, her golden eyes unreadable. It was surprisingly serious, for the girl who offered Jay a 20 dollar gift card just to know Hana’s favorite coffee. 

“...I think we both know you aren’t magicless.” She said after the pause. 

“Maybe.” Jay shrugged, looking down at the address in his hands. He hated to say goodbye to his father, who really only had Jay left. 

He clenched the address in his hand. 

“I’ll tell her for you, Claire.” 

* * *

Jay’s father hadn’t looked particularly surprised when Jay told him his plan. “You know, this’d all be easier if you told her about yourself a long time ago.” He mused, dusting off a bookshelf. 

“She doesn’t have to know.” Jay mumbled. 

“What, you’re planning on keeping a secret in a highschool? Too many people would know. It’d get around to her eventually, when you’re a Woods.” 

Jay paused. “...what do you mean, a Woods?”

“Well, your mother and I made quite a name for ourselves back in the day.” His dad hummed. “That’s why we settled somewhere so remote, when we had you. We didn’t want you to feel pressured.” He hesitated. “I wonder if we made the right decision.” 

“Mmm. It’d be pretty nice for the school, if they had a Woods under control.” Jay mumbled. “They’d hate for him to decide to run off. They might even be willing to bargain.” 

His dad looked over to him, long and hard. “Maybe.” He sighed, going up to Jay and setting a hand on his head before ruffling gently. “...be safe, Jay. I love you.” He whispered. 

Jay smiled wobbly. “When am I not?” 

* * *

The train ride to the boarding school was long, too long. He felt a certain exhilaration in between all of the anxiety; he would have to hide his magic from Hana, still, of course. And that meant hiding it from any other student who

might tell. But he didn’t have to worry about death for so much as letting light dance along his fingertips. 

The school was huge, and smelled of wealth. It was in between Bristol and Domania both, so it was as close to a magic hotspot you would find in Bristol. He was amazed by all of the different people, some of them not even human. They might have been the minority, but they were there. 

Jay had not set an appointment. 

Instead, he marched straight off to where he thought the main office was, and set his hands on the desk. 

“Who’s in charge?” 

The man behind the counter watched Jay incredulously, slowly setting down his pen. “Excuse me?”

“Is there, like, someone who’s the boss of everyone else here?” 

“...do you have an appointment, Sir?” 

“No. But whoever it is  _ might _ want to talk to me. My family is kind of a big deal.” 

The man blinked at Jay a few times, before setting his hand over a red button. “I’m sorry, but if you don’t have an appointment, I have to insist that you leave.” 

Jay opened his mouth to give the man a witty comeback, but someone behind him laughed. “It’s alright, I have time.”

The woman behind him screamed authority. Her honey-colored hair was twisted up into a bun, and her eyes seemed to flicker with different colors. She stood with her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised curiously. 

“What makes you so important, Young Man?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next update out! Working on a new project, mainly for after Clouded is finished. It'll be a BNHA fic and I really think y'all will like it ;)


	6. Chapter 6

All his life, Jay had grown up in a small town. Most of the adults were, for lack of a better word, not threatening. Jay had never been particularly afraid of anyone, really, other than a select few individuals he was able to completely avoid. His home was nothing more than placating smiles and gentle nods. 

Compared to them, Ms. Serment was the most terrifying person Jay had ever met. She was a commanding presence for everyone in the room. She could make people silent with a glance, and looked at Jay as if he was a child. 

For the first time, Jay realized he was a child. 

He sat in her office. It was totally different from the one he was used to; there was much more light, and a window made it easy for her to peer into the hallway. She smiled to Jay, as if he was the most amusing thing she’d seen all day. 

“So, what makes you so important?”

“My parents, um, maybe you’ve heard of them?” Jay was suddenly starting to realize how terrible his plan was. “Arian and Elaine Woods?” 

She paused, hand hovering over the table. “I see. How is Elaine, now?” Jay noticed that her voice was a little strained. Jay hesitated. This was either a brilliant plan or an incredibly stupid one. 

“I’d love to tell you, but I have a problem. There’s this girl in the school, and it’s my job to protect her.” 

“What, you want to get into the school?” Ms. Serment raised an eyebrow. “You can get in normally, assuming you took up magic like your parents.”

“She can’t know I’m a witch.” Jay explained. 

She watched him for a really long time, thinking. Slowly, she tapped her fingers on the desk. “So, I let you into my school - one designed for magic, mind you - supposedly without  _ any  _ kind of magic ability at all, and in return, you’ll tell me what Arian and Elaine are up to?” 

Jay nodded a little; it wouldn’t be hard to lie, as far as locations went. Made sure she thought that his parents weren’t a threat. 

“Do you promise?” She held out her pinky, and Jay frowned. “Really? Isn’t that a little childish?” 

“Humor me.” 

Jay shrugged and gave up his pinky. “I promise.” It didn’t take long for him to realize something was wrong because as it happened, he felt a little zap of magic. Magical auras weren’t very strong, and they were incredibly hard to miss, but Jay had always been good on sensing them. Of course Ms. Serment was gifted; that only made sense, being the headmistress of a school dedicated to magic. 

But that begged the question, what did she just do to him? 

“Okay, done. I’ll give you some paperwork and call you back later. You can get a hotel for tonight, I’m sure.” She smiled, sickly sweet, taking out a little device. “Now, where are Arian and Elaine?” 

The words tumbled out before he could filter them. “My dad lives in a small town in Bristol, he owns a library and pretends to be without any magic at all. My mom died when I was really little. She was shot for being a witch.” Jay felt himself flush, feeling like a little kid who shared too much. “What was that, exactly?”

“My gift.” She chuckled, getting out some papers. “Let’s just say you aren’t breaking any promises with me around.” She handed a packet to Jay. “Fill this out and leave it on my desk. You’re on your own to find whatever girl you’re supposed to be protecting, but as far as we’re concerned, you’re attending without magic in order to get the students here used to people like that.” 

Jay wordlessly took the papers, looking them over. “That’s not the only reason you’re admitting me, is it? For my parents, I mean.” 

She watched him, pursing her lips. “You know what they say, don’t you? Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. I won’t say I’m not delighted to keep a witch like you in check.” 

Something about that scared Jay even more than the promise. 

* * *

Paperwork was extremely tedious. By the end, Jay was ready to perhaps slam his head into a wall, but completed it nonetheless. He slipped out of the office and out into the small city surrounding the school. 

Jay’s heart pounded as he sat down on a bench in a fairly populated street. People were scattered about, none particularly watching him, but able to see him. He took out his hand and whispered the words of a prepared spell, watching the light dance in his fingers. 

No one batted an eye at him. 

Jay felt a weight being lifted off of his shoulders. The spell he used was one used to locate people, and he knew it would be the fastest way to find Hana. He felt a tug in his gut and navigated the streets with practiced ease. 

He ended up in a small cafe, and his eyes settled on a familiar head of dark hair and bright eyes. Jay stopped in his tracks when he saw Hana. 

She was with another person. 

She was talking to another girl willingly.

No, he wasn’t jealous. Jay bristled slightly and walked up, unceremoniously plopping down at the table. He took in the other girl, short and blonde and reeking of attitude. And Faith, was that a  _ tiara  _ on her head? How stuck up could someone get? 

Hana glanced over to Jay, before doing a double take. “What are you -  _ what? _ ” Hana blinked, a smile slowly spreading over her face. Jay did a little wave. “Oh, you know, followed the trail and ended up here.” 

Hana shoved him, laughing. “Shut up, stop joking around. I can’t believe you followed me  _ out of the country,  _ you absolute maniac.” 

“Who else would look after your dumb ass?” Jay smirked. Hana snorted, rolling her eyes. “Oh, please, I’m the one trying to keep you out of trouble.” 

“In all seriousness, Claire pulled some strings to get me here.” Jay mumbled. “She feels really bad.” 

“I pushed her down the stairs and she feels bad?” Hana squinted. “I think you’re just too blind to her cutesy charms.” 

Jay tilted his head. “I’m telling you, Hana, Claire is  _ not  _ trying to plot your murder or whatever. You’re paranoid.” 

“I’m sorry,” The other girl interrupted, “Who are you?”

“This is Jay! From my old town. He, um, kind of followed me here I guess.” Hana laughed. 

“...I see.” She looked Jay over. “What’s your gift?” 

Hana sputtered at the same time as Jay laughed. “Me? Sorry to disappoint, but I’m magicless. Totally harmless.” 

She nodded, still watching Jay with a kind of intensity he couldn’t quite place. “I see.” She repeated. “Well. I’m Anette Somber.” She held her hand out, and Jay couldn’t help but let out a little squeak. 

Because this girl was a real princess. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> School just started, and you know what that means! Ya girl slowly dying as she tries to get all A's. We meet main character number 4, miss Anette, princess and lover of rules. I have kind of a soft spot for my bitchy baby


End file.
